Overhead runway crane truck



Jan. 4, 1966 P. ANDERSON OVERHEAD RUNWAY CRANE TRUCK Filed Aug. 22. 1961 INVENTOR.

RALPH P. ANDERSO'N ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofiice 3,227,099 Patented Jan. 4, 1966 3,227,099 OVERHEAD RUNWAY CRANE TRUCK Ralph P. Anderson, Willoughby, Ohio, assignor to The Cleveland Crane & Engineering Company, Wickliffe, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Aug. 22, 1961, Ser. No. 133,170 1 Claim. (Cl. 105-163) This invention relates to overhead bridge-type traveling cranes.

The principal object of the invention is the provision of a novel and improved traveling crane of the type referred to having three rail engaging wheels at each end of the bridge so connected to the bridge as to not materially increase the overall height of the crane.

The invention resides in certain features of construction, and combination and arrangement of parts, and further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which it pertains from the following description of the present preferred embodiment thereof described with reference to the ac companying drawings forming a part of this specification, and in which:

FIG. 1 is an end elevational view of an overhead traveling crane embodying the present invention, and

FIG. 2 is a sectional view, with portions in elevation, approximately on the line 22 of FIG. 1.

Although the invention may be otherwise embodied it is particularly applicable to overhead traveling cranes of the bridge-type and is herein illustrated and described as embodied in such a crane. Only one end of the crane is shown in the drawings, but it is to be understood that the other end is similar to the end shown.

The crane shown comprises a bridge comprising two parallel girders 10, 11, the opposite ends of which are supported on crane trucks each having three rail wheels 12, 13, 14 adapted to travel upon rails 15 which form the bridge or crane runway. The rails 15 are supported by the building or other structure A within which the crane is located in a manner well known in the art. The crane also comprises the usual hoist trolley, not shown, supported upon the bridge rails 20, 21 located upon the tops of the girders 10, 11 for movement lengthwise of the bridge.

Each of the end trucks comprise two parts or frame members 25, 30 formed of steel plates welded together and pivotally connected to one another by a pivot pin or shaft 36. The member 25 comprises two vertical or web plates 37 of the general figuration shown in FIG. 1, spaced from one another and fixedly secured together by a plurality of plates welded to their top and bottom edges, which plates include a top plate 40 and bottom plates 41, 42. An angular plate or flange 43 is welded to the lower end edges of web plates 37 to which the bearing assemblies for the wheel 12, at the left-hand end of the truck, as viewed in FIG. 1, are detachably secured in a manner more fully described hereinafter with reference to wheel 13. The wheels 12, 13 and 14 are conventional in construction as are their bearing assemblies.

The spacer plates 40, 41 extend beyond the outer faces of the two web plates 37, as does the flange plate 43, and suitable reinforcing plates, designated generally by the reference character 48, are welded to the web plates and the over hanging edge portions of the spacer plates 40, 41. The near end of the left-hand bridge girder 10, as viewed in FIG. 1, rests upon and is detachably bolted to the member 25 intermediate the wheel 12 and the pivot pin 36.

The part or member 30 of the end truck to which the part 25 is connected by the pivot pin 36, is constructed in a manner similar to that in which the part 25 is constructed and like the part 25 comprises two vertical or web plates 50, 51 connected together in spaced relation by plates including top and bottom plates 52, 53 welded to their edges. Pairs of angle plates 54, 55 are welded to the opposite lower end edges of the web plates 50, 51 and extend outwardly from the web plates at thereto. Only one of the pair of angular plates 55 appears in the drawings; however, it is to be understood that the pairs of angular plates 43 and 55 are disposed as shown in FIG. 2 with reference to the angular plates 54.

It will be seen that the peripheries of the wheels 12, 13, 14 extend above the top edges of the web plates 37 and 50, 51, and the top spacer plates 40, 52 are cut away over the respective wheels to provide clearance therefor. Referring particularly to FIG. 2, it will be seen that wheel 13 is supported between the web plates 50, 51 by bearing assemblies 44, 45, which are of well known construction and which are removably attached to the pair of angle plates 54 by bolts 56. Wheels 12 and 14 are similarly attached to the pairs of angle plates 43, 55, respectively and like parts of these assemblies are designated by like reference characters. The right-hand end girder 11, as viewed in FIG. 2, is supported upon and detachably connected to the part 30 intermediate the wheels 13, 14.

Reinforcing webs or plates 57 are welded to the web plates 50, 51 and to the top plate 52 and angle plates 54, 55. The ends of the frame members 25, 30 are open so that the wheels 12, 13 can be removed therefrom without raising the frames more than enough to remove the load therefrom. It will be noted that the arm-like portion of frame member 25 extending over the adjacent end of the frame member 30 provides an arch-like recess into which the wheel 13 may be rolled and then removed or replaced without appreciably elevating the truck frame members.

Attention is called to .the fact that there is a depression in the top of the members 25, 30, at the places where the end of the bridge girders 10, 11 are secured thereto, that the wheels 12, 13 and 14 are between the vertical web plates of the members 25, 30 to which they are secured, that the configuration of the right-hand end of the member 25 is such that the wheel 13 can be readily removed without disassembly of the parts 25, 30 from one another, and that the end truck is otherwise so constructed that the overall height of the end truck is not substantially greater than that of the top of the bridge rails 20, 21.

The pivot pin or shaft 36, which connects the parts 25, 30 of the end truck together, projects through the right hand end of the member 25 which has a suitable bearing sleeve 60 secured therein. The ends of the pivot pin or shaft 36 which project from opposite sides of the member 25 extend through brackets 61, 62 welded to the top plate 52 of the member or part 30 of the truck. In the embodiment shown, the pivot pin 36 is nonrotatably secured in the brackets 61, 62 by a key member 63 bolted to the bracket 62.

In the embodiment of the invention shown, the center pivot pin 36 is directly above the center of the wheel 13, the girder 10 of the bridge is secured to the member 25 of the truck a distance to the left of the center of the pivot pin 36 equal to about two-thirds of the distance from the center of the pivot pin to the axis of rotation of the wheel 12, and the girder 11 is secured to the member 30 of the end truck approximately midway between the wheels 13, 14. This construction gives a predetermined distribution of the bridge load on the three wheels 12, 13, 14. It will be apparent, however, that the bridge girders may be connected to the members 25, 30 at other locations with respect to the wheels and/or to the pivot connection between the two articulated parts of the end truck and that the pivotal connection between the articu- 3. lated parts of the truck may be otherwise located so as to obtain any desirable loading of the Wheels of the end truck.

From the foregoing disclosure it will be apparent that the objects of theinvention heretofore enumerated and others have been accomplished and that there has been providedan overhead traveling crane, the overall height of which isnot greater or substantially greater than a similar two wheel crane although the crane comprises three wheels and, therefore, is capable of carrying greater loads.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has beendescribed in considerable detail, it is the intention to hereby cover all embodiments'of the invention which come Within the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

In an articulated end truck for anoverhead railway traveling'crane, first and second'truck' frames, means pivotally connecting said frames atadjacent ends in tandem, a wheel on said first truck frame at the end thereof adjacent said second truck frame, said second truck frame-having an arm projecting therefrom and supported on said first truck frame above said wheel by said pivotal means, said second frame including an end edge portion extending downwardly from said arm andspacedfrom the portion of said first frame to which said wheel is attached a distance at least equal to the diameter of said wheel for forming an unobstructed opening at said adjacent endsof said truck frames to receive-said wheel when it is detached from said first'frame'structure, .and:means for detachably; securing-said wheel to said firsttruck frame for removal thereof endwisefrom saidfirst-nrentioned frame andinto said unobstructediopening.

References Cited by the Examiner 20 ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner.

NELSON M. ELLISON, LEO QUACKENBUSH, MlL- TON BUCHLER, Examiners. 

